This study presents an efficacy evaluation of language arts instruction in the Fort Worth, Texas elementary schools.

This thesis presents student case studies from a third grade class at an Albany, Texas elementary school. Students with insecurity issues are described and remedial treatments are suggested.

This thesis is the result of an examination conducted on the leadership abilities of elementary school children and whether or not an improvement can be made through teaching.

This research sought to determine if a significant relationship existed between various levels of dogmatism of supervising teachers and student teachers and the degree of change in attitude of the student teachers during student teaching.

The purpose of this study was to determine, whether there was a significant difference in the leisure reading habits of two groups of women who were college graduates; one group of elementary classroom teachers, grades one through six, and another group of women who were not teachers.

This study was undertaken to investigate the predictive value of certain tests in relationship to first grade reading success. The following predictor tests were administered to seventy first grade students during the first two weeks of school: Metropolitan Readiness Test, Naming Letters Test, Light Response Test and Matching Symbol Test. The Teacher's Reading Readiness Rating Scale was filled out by each of the seven teachers at the end of the sixth week. The Wechsler Intelignce Scale for Children was administered to each child during the fall. The seventh predictor test was computed by finding the difference in individual scores of the Light Response Test and the Matching Symbol Test.

The purpose of this study was to determine the interrelationship of self-concept and attitude toward mathematics to academic achievement in the areas of arithmetical computation, concepts, and application.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the differences and changes in integrated and segregated white students' self-concepts, racial attitudes, and academic achievements.

This study is limited to the mathematics performance of two intact groups of culturally deprived kindergarten students, mostly blacks, with a few whites and Mexican-Americans, who were enrolled at Robert E. Lee Elementary School (Denton, Texas) for the entire school year of 1970-1971. The purposes of the study are to compare the effectiveness of two methods of teaching mathematics to culturally disadvantaged children and to check for interaction of treatments when these children are classified by sex.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the identification of conditions, situations, and events that are important problems faced in the public elementary schools of Texas. Problems are categorized into sixteen areas: finance, desegregation and busing, school organization, school personnel, preschool and kindergarten, instructional improvement, reporting systems, pupil behavior, curriculum, in-service staff training, humanizing the schools, public relations, minority groups, migrant children, special education, and recent trends. The purpose of the study is to determine perceived importance of problems and to establish priorities of current issues from information obtained from education leaders of elementary schools.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of three different types of in-service or preservice training on the attitudes of sixth-grade teachers in selected Texas school districts toward the "new" social studies. The types of preparation compared are the following: completion of a social studies methods course within the last two years, attendance at a social studies in-service training session at least three hours in length within the past year, a major or minor in one of the social science disciplines, or combinations of these. Additional variables such as age, teaching experience, classroom organization, degrees held, and textbooks being used are also considered. Three hundred twenty-four respondents from thirteen school districts completed a two-part questionnaire. Part A seeks biographical, educational, and experiential information. Part B contains thirty-nine statements about social studies education to which the participants respond on a six-point Likert-type scale. Data are treated with a one-way analysis of variance, and hypotheses are retained or rejected at the .05 level of significance. When a significant F-ratio is found on data having more than two groups, the Fisher's t for multi-type comparisons is applied to determine where the significant differences occur.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which fifth-grade teachers, teachers in special education, and child psychiatrists hold similar views regarding the seriousness of commonly observed student behaviors. In addition, the views of these three groups are compared to research regarding which behaviors in children are predictive of future delinquency. The Wickman Scale, consisting of fifty commonly observed children's behaviors, and a fifteen-pair Semantic Differential Scale, designed for use in this study, were administered to a group of fifth-grade teachers, a group of special education teachers, and a group of child psychiatrists.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the effect of work-study method instruction upon the achievement of students in fifth grade social studies. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effects of the SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) Study Method instruction upon the achievement of students in fifth grade social studies. The subjects ranged in age from ten years two months to thirteen years three months. Th I.Q. for the subjects ranged from 70 to 135. Of the 102 subjects involved in the study, 42 were male and 60 were female. The I.Q. score from the California Test of Mental Maturity, S Form was used to structure the subjects into three intelligence levels. Fifty-four subjects served as the experimental group, and forty-eight served as the control group. The instrument used to obtain pretest and posttest scores on the variable relating to achievement was the SRA Assessment Survey, Blue Level. Form E was used for the pretest, and Form F was used for the posttest. The subjects were assigned to four classes which were near equal. Two classes were selected by the principal to serve as the experimental group. The other two classes served as the …

The first purpose of this study is to determine whether significant differences exist among the perceptions of principals, librarians, and teachers with respect to the following categorical practices or conditions relative to the learning-center concept in open-space elementary schools: (1) teacher preparation for use of the learning center; (2) student preparation for use of the learning center; (3) learning center personnel and their role; (4) operation of the learning center; (5) facilities, materials, and equipment in the learning center; (6) use of the learning center for individualizing learning; and (7) use of the learning center for developing independent learning skills. The second purpose of this study is to determine whether a significant correlation exists among specific categories. The third purpose of this study is to establish the degree of emphasis placed upon various practices or conditions relative to the learning-center concept in open-space elementary schools of Texas.

This investigation is concerned with determining the value, if any, of certain curiosity constructs and thought skill experiences upon "raw score" responses of black sixth grade pupils to selected standardized and experimenter made tests. The major purpose of this study is to determine whether the curiosity levels of black children will be increased and if gains will be made in reading comprehension and responses when selected questioning procedures are used. The study is confined to teacher-directed instructional situations where pupils are engaged in reading acts.

The problem of the study was to compare the relationships between a cognitive-oriented and affective-oriented teacher in-service program on the subsequent incidence of humane characteristics in the classroom. Ninety-two teachers of grades 4, 5, and 6 from three school districts located in the Region XI Education Service Center area were involved in the study. One of the purposes of the study was to obtain information which could be helpful to Texas educators responsible for teacher in-service programs. It is critical that educators know the kinds of in-service programs which produce the greatest change in teacher behavior. This study concludes that in-service education programs which focus on specific instructional skills and strategies related to curriculum content are more viable in achieving the characteristics of a humane classroom than in-service programs which, though they be skills-oriented, do not relate specifically to curriculum content.

This study compares the effect of the objectives-based test collections of the Instructional Objectives Exchange on reading comprehension and word-attack skills of fifth-grade students in a basal reader program. The IOX, a non-profit educational organization, was established in the late 1960's to provide educators with instructional materials such as criterion-referenced tests to allow realistic assessment of students in reference to specific instructional objectives. IOX Director James Popham states the Exchange's purpose as encouraging educators throughout the country to use criterion-referenced instructional procedures. The study compares gains in reading comprehension and word-attack skills of a research group with the gains of a control group, using the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test for both pre-test and post-test. The IOX criterion-referenced tests were added to the reading program for the research group but were not given the control group.

The problem of this study was to determine the effects which the practicing of self-selected teaching skills by elementary education majors had on measures of personality and of teaching behavior. Personality measures were limited to self-confidence; attitudes toward self, children, and others; identification with the teaching role; and identification with the teaching profession. The teaching behavior measures were coded interaction episodes between a teacher trainee and four pupils in a microteaching setting. It was concluded that training experiences of short duration (e.g., eight weeks or less) (1) can be expected to positively affect specific, narrowly defined personality traits such as identification with the teaching role and identification with the teaching profession, (2) cannot be expected to affect broadly defined, global personality traits such as self-confidence or attitudes toward self, children, and others, and (3) cannot be expected to affect the classroom interaction of teachers and pupils.

This study investigates the influence of inner-city and suburban student teaching upon adjustment and effectiveness of first-year elementary teachers, with secondary attention to their personal and professional problems of adjustment to their initial teaching location. The fifty-five subjects of this study were first-year, inner-city and suburban teachers in the Dallas area. Except for two Black females and three Anglo males, all were Anglo females. The findings of this study support the following conclusions 1. Student-teaching locale should not be the determining factor in deciding the type of school for first-year teachers. 2. Effective inner-city student teachers may be expected to be highly effective teachers in both inner-city schools and those in other locales. 3. Successful student-teaching experiences, regardless of location, can be expected to produce well-adjusted, effective teachers. 4. It can be anticipated that inner-city teachers will experience a negative change in optimism, attitudes toward teaching, general adjustment and mental health during their initial year of teaching. 5. Both suburban and inner-city teachers who enjoyed successful student-teaching experiences can be expected to have good self-perception, empathy, a favorable view of children, confidence regarding classroom discipline, and effectiveness as a teacher.

This study investigates the effect of the helping relationship in cross-age tutoring upon the attitude toward school, self-concept, and grade average of elementary and middle-school students.The data measuring attitude toward school of those in the tutor-pupil relationship imply that this variable is the most sensitive to the tutoring program. The program resulted in a definitely superior attitude toward school for eighth graders and one sub-group of third graders. Therefore, it is concluded that cross-age tutoring can be expected to result in an improved attitude toward school on the part of children in specific age levels. Since no significant difference in self-concept was found, cross-age tutoring cannot be supported as an indirect means of improving the self-concept of children. Generally, the experimental condition of the tutor-pupil relationship did not result in higher grade averages for the experimental tutors and pupils in grades three, five, and six; however, the grade averages of lower-ability eighth-grade students showed highly significant gains over the control group. Therefore, although cross-age tutoring cannot be expected to improve academic standing of all elementary students, lower-ability eighth-grade students acting as tutors can be expected to improve their academic standing.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the two instructional strategies for six phonic word-attack skills objectives and to focus on the following specific questions: (a) When student teachers use a basal-reader-oriented strategy (Treatment I) for teaching phonic word-attack skills, what will be the effects on elementary pupil achievement of these skills? (b) When student teachers use a systematic instructional strategy (Treatment II) for teaching phonic word-attack skills, what will be the effects on elementary pupil achievement of these skills? (c) How will the effects of these strategies compare? Written criterion-referenced phonic word-attack skills pre-tests were administered to approximately 110 third and fourth grade pupils. The validity of the criterion-referenced tests was judged by a team of reading specialists from North Texas State University. The reliability coefficients of the tests ranged from .57 to .93 and all were significant at the .01 level. This report concludes that when elementary pupil achievement of phonic word-attack skills is used as the criterion for student teacher effectiveness then training in the conscientious application of systematic instructional procedures incorporating research validated learning principles is a more effective procedure than requiring student teachers to follow the recommended procedures in basal readers. …

This study was designed to determine the effects of the infusion of career-education concepts into the language arts and social studies curricula of fifth-grade students. Hypotheses related to differences in mean scores of students in the experimental group and the control group on the Reading Test, Language Test, Study Skills Test of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, as well as on the total battery scores. Additional hypotheses were formulated concerning the difference between proportional mean scores on the Career Education Questionnaire and three self-concept inventories designed by Instructional Objectives Exchange. The following conclusions are based on the findings of this study: (1) Infusion of career-education concepts into content areas of the curriculum can result in the increased academic achievement of-students. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that, statistically, the arithmetic mean scores for the experimental and the control groups were not significantly different. Gains in language expression and mechanics, reading vocabulary, and references study skills can result when students relate academic knowledge to the world of work; (2) Students' attitudes toward career education can be altered through the provision of factual information and meaningful experiences; and (3) The self-concepts of students are relatively stable and not altered appreciably …

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the BASICS program. The program, Building and Applying Strategies for Initial Cognitive Skills, was developed by the Institute for Staff Development of Miami, Florida, for educating teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents in techniques considered essential in helping pre-school, primary grade, and special education children develop initial cognitive skills. The study was undertaken to determine the effects of the program on the self-concept, experimental beliefs, dogmatism, and pupil control ideology of in-service elementary school teachers who participated in it as an elective graduate level course. The design of the study was the non-equivalent control group design. Twelve subjects who volunteered to participate in the program formed the experimental group. Twelve other subjects were randomly selected from a graduate-level class in elementary school curriculum development to form the control group. The instructor who was in charge of the BASICS program taught the class from which the control subjects were selected. The study was conducted during the first six-week summer term of 1975 at North Texas State University. The two groups were administered pre and post the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Personal Beliefs Inventory (PBI), the Teacher Practices Inventory (TPI), the Dogmatism Scale Form E, …

The problem explored by this study is the nature of b-d confusion as it is exhibited by remedial and nonremedial readers at various elementary ages in the areas of letter identification, spelling, and reading. The purposes of Phase I of the study were to examine the progressive phase-out of b-d errors committed by samples of remedial and nonremedial readers and to explore certain factors that could be related to the problem. The object of Phase II was to describe subjects with extreme b-d reversal problems. Extreme b-d reversers were found to have been average or below on first-grade-readiness scores and significantly below grade-level placement in reading achievement. School marks were also generally low. As a whole, the extremes were predominantly right-handed and no sex bias was detected. When the extremes were compared to subjects above average in b-d responses, the extremes made significantly more errors on other letters, were able to read significantly fewer words, and required significantly more assistance in spelling. These groups significantly differed on position of b-d reversals in reading, but not in spelling, nor on the proportion of real words actually produced when reversals were made in reading. Reversal of b and d was not associated …